Home shampoo chair



E. M. DANTES HOME SHAMPOO CHAIR Sept. 6, 1960 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 24, 1958 INVENTOR (5449 07mm fimvres ATTORNEYS p 1960 E. M. DANTES 2,951,531

HOME SHAMPOO CHAIR Filed June 24, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY5 United States Patent HOME SHAMPOO CHAIR Edna Merle Dantes, 2725 Claiborne Ave., Shreveport, La. Filed June 24,1958, Ser. No. 744,214

3 Claims. 01. 155-488) This invention relates to a home shampoo chair and more particularly to a shampoo chair which is normally useful as a household furniture piece having a pleasing appearance adapting it for use in furnishing bedrooms or living rooms but which may be quickly and easily converted for use in shampooing a persons hair by swinging a basin-like receptacle from a concealed position in the chair back to an operative position at the top of the chair back.

Theshampoo trays or basins used heretofore have generally been adapted to be detachably mounted on a specially designed chair such as a barber or beauty parlor chair not adapted for home furnishing, particularly bedroom, living room or bed-living room furnishing. With the increasing popularity in the use of home beauty aids and apartment house living units, there has been an increasing need for an economical shampoo chair suitable also for use in the home furnishing plan. A conventional type beauty parlor chair that would be normally used only occasionally, would not be practical because of expense and space limitations in the average home or apartment unit.

Shampoo trays or basins designed for mounting on the backs of various types of household chairs are inconvenient because of the trouble involved in mounting the tray each time it is to be used, not to mention the problem of finding a suitable storage space in the average home or apartment unit for such an unwieldy and bulky object with its attachment elements. It is also difficult to mount such a detachable shampoo tray firmly on the average household chair so that it wont wobble or become detached during the vigorous massaging and rinsing of a persons head that is necessary for a thorough shampoo. Furthermore, the average household chair does not have a back rest of suitable inclination or provide for suitable adjusted positions for the eflicient, convenient and comfortable hair-shampooing techniques.

The primary object of this invention is, therefore, to

provide an economical practical dual-purpose household chair having a shampoo basin movable between an operative position overlying the top of the chair back rest and a stored position substantially concealed in a space in the chair back. Another object of this invention is to provide a chair normally useful as a pleasing piece of household furniture and which may be quickly and easily converted for use in shampooing a persons hair by swinging a shampoo basin from a substantially concealed position in the back of the chair to an operative position adjacent the top of the chair back.

A further object of the present invention resides in providing an overstuffed chair of the arm type with an adjustable hollowed out back adapted to concealably store a swinging mounted basin structure for selective use in shampooing the hair upon rearwardly inclining the back and swinging the basin structure to operative position with its forward edge supported on the upper edge of the back rest.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view, with parts broken away for clarity, of the home shampoo chair of this invention illustrating the shampoo basin in an operative position on a partially reclined back rest;

Figure 2 is a perspective view similar to Figure 1, but illustrating the shampoo basin in its stored position in the hollow or recessed chair back rest which has been tilted forward to its upright seating position;

Figure 3 is a side elevation, with parts broken away for clarity, of an upper portion of the shampoo chair of this invention illustrating the shampoo basin in an operative position;

Figure 4 is a side elevation similar to Figure 3 but with the shampoo basin in stored position in the recessed chair back rest;

Figure 5 is a fragmental side elevation of a chair back similar to that of Figure 3 illustrating an alternate linkage arrangement.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, there is illustrated in Figures 14 a chair indicated generally at 10 having an adjustable reclinable back rest 12 hingedly mounted along the upper rear edge of seat 14 by any suitable hinges 16. The chair 10 is supported on metal legs 17 in a manner well known in the art and is provided with hollow cushioning arm rests 18 supported by metal arm mounts 19 in conventional manner. In accord with the present invention the rear ends of arm rests 18 are open, at least partway, and slidably receive linking arms 20 pivotally connected adjacent an end thereof by pins 22 to respective parallel, conventional vertical back support frame members 24 in the back rest 12. The linking arms 20 have longitudinally spaced notches 26 along one edge adapted to partially encompass a locking pin or bar 28 disposed transversely of the space in the hollow arm rests 18 whereby back rest 12 can be adjusted to any of several desired inclined positions. A leaf spring 30 (Figures 3 and 4) is riveted or otherwise suitably secured interiorly of each arm rest 18 opposite pin or bar 28 for constantly urging linking arms 20 in a downwardly direction so that the notches 26 therein are in positive locking engagement with locking pin 28. When it is desired to recline back rest 12, it is a simple matter to lift the links 20 against the tension of spring 30 to unlock linking arms 20 from their respective locking pins 28. It is to be understood that this particular manner of tiltably mounting the chair back is illustrative only and that anyvother suitable or conventional tilt back structure may be employed without departing from the intent and spirit of the present invention.

The back rest 12 is preferably of overstuffed hollow construction open on the rear face and defined by open ended wooden or metal frame members 24 of a conventional type overlaid by any suitable upholstery material in well known manner. The void space therein is adapted to receive a shampoo basin and its support structure indicated generally by numeral 31. The basin and support structure includes a pair of primary support members 29 rigidly mounted in vertically extending relation at each side of the recess provided by back rest 12 in closely spaced relation to the opposite side framing 24 thereof. Each member 29 has a pair of guide slots 32 and 34 cut therethrough for slidingly receiving sliding mounting pins 36 and 38 carried by shampoo basin mounting arms 40. and locking linkage 42 respectively. Arm 40 is of suitable bell-crank configuration while linkage 42 comprises a pair of link elements 43 and 44 (Figures 3 and 4) pivotally connected at 45 to basin 31 and to each other at their adjacent overlapping ends as shown at 46. Washers may be provided on the ends of the pins 36 and 38, if desired,to positively lock them in theirrespective guide slots. a

Mounting arms 40 are rigid with the underside of the bottom wall of basin 31, link '44 is preferably provided with an angled lip 47 overlapping the upper edge of link 43 in the position illustratedin Figure 3 to prevent down ward breaking of the linkage 42 and sustain basin 31 in operative position. Guide slots 32 are of suitable inverted semi-circular configuration at their upper ends and then curve forwardly then downwardly as illustrated in Figures 1, 3 and 4- to guide pin 32 in a predetermined path to assure proper lifting then rearward, downward and forward swinging, movement of the basins front end from its operative position around the rear upper edge of back rest 12 into stored position in the back rest 12 and a reverse movement from stored to operative position on the top of the back rest. Guide slots 34 extend from an upper inverted semi-circular locking terminus in a straight line substantially paralleling the back Wall of back rest 12 to permit limited upward then rearward and downward movement of pin 38 as link 42 is manually broken upwardly at pivot 46 to permit the links 43 and 44 to fold with respect to each other as will be clear from inspection of the several intermediate positions of basin 31 in Figures 3 and 4. .The forward runs of tracks or guide slots 32 and 34 provide support sockets at their lower ends for pins 36 and 38 when basin 31 is in the operative position of Figure 3 with links 42 supporting the rearwardly extending portion of basin 31 overhanging the rear of back rest 12. 7

As clearly seen from Figures 1 and 3 basin 31 when disposed in operative position inclines rearwardly and downwardly so that the neck of a person reclining in the tilted back chair Will lie in the neck opening '50 preferably formed midway of the front basin edge with the top and back of the head overhanging the well of the basin. This relationship of the persons head and basin 31 presents the head to one giving the shampoo in such a way that the hair and head can be readily reached for shampooing and rinsed from the forehead back thus avoiding to a great extent the discomfort of soap being rinsed into the eyes and into the face of the person being shampooed. To assure that the well of basin 31 has adequate capacity for the rinse Water and suds the upper edges of the basin side walls 51 preferably incline upwardly from front to rear so the basin well is deeper at its back end than at its front end. This difference in well depth also assures a minimum height of the front basin edge so an average height person comfortably seated will not be forced to strain to get his head in proper rinsing position.

A drain opening closed by a plug 52 is preferably provided in the rear center of the basin bottom wall to permit ready drainage and cleaning of the basin after use. The chair back is preferably provided around the edges of the back recess with snap fastener openings or the like indicated by numeral 53 (Figure 1) adapted to cooperate with suitable fasteners (not shown) provided on a flexible closure cloth 54 (Figure 2) provided to cover the recess opening when the chair is in use merely as a piece of room furniture.

Referring to Figure 5, an alternate support arm and locking linkage is illustrated. In this form of the invention, the side support members 29, in lieu of guide track or slot 32, are provided at their upper rearmost corners with simple pivot journals receiving pivot pins 57 carried by a pair of support links 58, one at each side of basin 31, the opposite ends of which are pivotally journalled on pivot pins 59 fixed to the respective basin side walls 51. In place of center breaking locking links 42, this form of the invention embodies one piece locking links 61 pivotally connected to the respective pivot pins 59 and'carrying at their opposite free ends slot engaging 4 pins 62 slidably associated with a guide slot 34a similar in configuration to but slightly longer than guide slot 34 of the previously described embodiment of the invention. In this form of the invention, the basin 31 in moving from its operating position shown in solid lines in Figure 5 is first rotated in a clockwise direction around the axis of pivot pins 59 to the position indicated by the letter B in Figure 5. This disposes the basin bottom facing to the right of Figure 5. Links 61 are then raised from their locking position shown in solid lines in Figure 5 to removetheir pins 62 from the support sockets of guide slots 3401 into the longdownward runs of the guide slots. The basin 31 is then free to swing with its support links 58 around pivot pins 57 to the stored position indicated by the letter C in Figure 5 with the basin bottom wall substantially closing the recess opening in the rear wall of the back rest. In this stored position, the pivot pins 59 will lie to the left of a straight line containing the axes of pivot pins 57 and pins 62 and by providing the right hand walls of guide slots 34a at their lower ends with a semi-circular pin socket 63 to receive pins 62 and retain links 58 and 61 in their angled toggle locked position. To prevent basin 31 from counterclockwise rotation around pivot pins 59 from the desired stored position, the upper edge of the permanent lower marginal back wall panel 64 is preferably provided midway between its ends with a suitable catch 65 which may take the form of an-eccentric disc carried by a suitably journalled finger operated shaft 66 carried by back wall panel 64. I

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

1. In a home furniture piece comprising a chair of general utilitarian design having a seat, a back rest having a recess opening through the back Wall and defined by peripherally extending support framing and means for tiltably mounting said back rest for relative adjustment with respect to said seat between an upright sitting position and a rearwardly inclined position, the improvement which comprises a pair of laterally spaced vertically extending support plate members fixed to said back rest within said recess in position inwardly from the opposite side framing members of said back rest and having laterally opposed support pin openings and laterally opposed pin guide slots; a basin structure having laterally spaced side walls, a bottom wall and end walls; a pair of link connections connected to said basin and disposed outwardly of said side walls with their free ends respectively opposite said support pin openings and said pin guide slots; and respective pin connectors protruding from said free link ends into said respective support pin openings and said respective pinguide slots, said pin guide slots comprising elongated slots extending generally in parallelism to the back edges of said support plate members and terminating at the upper ends in an inverted semi-circular slot portion, the closed end of which forms a pin support socket for fixedly supporting the associated pin connectors when said basin is in its operative position thereby permitting limited upward and rearward movement of the associated pin connectors from a position in said pin support socket which corresponds to the operative position of said basin, said link connections, said pin connector, said pin openings, and said pin guide slots being so related and arranged as to provide basin support means operable to pivotally mount said basin structure for bodily swinging movement from a normal stored position within said back rest to an operative position with its front end resting on the upper edge of said back rest and its rearwardly extending back end rigidly supported by said link connections by sequential upward, forward and downward movements whereby upon movement of said back rest to its rearwardly inclined position the head of a seated person will be disposed in overhanging downwardly and backwardly inclined relation to said basin structure for ready access in shampooing and rinsing.

2. The home furniture piece of claim 1 wherein said opposed support pin openings comprise slots adjacent the upper ends of said support plate members in the form of an inverted semi-circular portion merging into a downwardly and forwardly curving guide portion and wherein said pair of link connections at each side of said basin comprise a main support link of generally L-shaped configuration fixed at one end to said basin and extending downwardly and forwardly with respect to said basin with its free end carrying a pin connector disposed opposite a respective support pin slot for sliding association therewith and a locking link comprising a first link section pivoted at one end to a respective basin side wall at a point rearwardly from the connection of said main support link to said basin, a second link section pivoted at one end to the free end of said first link section to form a toggle link, said other end of said second link section carrying a pin connector for sliding association with said guide slot and said first link connection at its free end having a laterally extending lip formed along its upper edge in position to abuttingly engage the opposed adjacent end edge of said second link section to limit the downward breaking movement of said toggle link when said toggle link is fully extended in the operative position of said basin.

3. The home furniture piece of claim 1 wherein said opposed support pin openings comprise pin journal openings and wherein said pair of link connections at each side of said basin comprises an elongated main support link pivoted at one end to a basin side wall pivot pin located at a point rearwardly of the transverse centerline of said basin with its other end carrying a pin connector journalled in a respective support pin journal opening and an elongated locking link pivoted at one end to said basin side wall pivot pin with its other end carrying a pin connector for sliding association with said guide slot, said guide slot adjacent and upwardly from the lower end of its rearmost wall having a pin receiving notch adapted to receive the pin connector of said locking link in the stored position of said basin and thereby retain the basin side wall pivot pin forwardly of a straight line interconnecting the axes of said support link pin connector and said locking link pin connector and the pair of links confined within the recess of said back rest, said basin being disposed in its stored position with its bottom wall substantially closing the back rest opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 555,860 Hanger Mar. 3, 1896 570,208 Harry Oct. 27, 1896 2,132,279 Wicknick Oct. 4, 1938 2,229,937 Reese Jan. 28, 1941 2,349,766 Simjian May 23, 1944 2,369,069 Mowat Feb. 6, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS 25,562 Sweden Sept. 26, 1908 343,880 Great Britain Feb. 24, 1931 

